1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cable arrangement structure of the door wire harness of a vehicle and a grommet used for cable arrangement.
2. Description of Background Information
Since the inside of a door frame of a vehicle becomes soaked in water which is transmitted past a glass, a door wire also gets soaked when the door harness is provided in the inside of the door frame. The sub-stream of the soaked door harness passes through an opening provided in the inner panel area of the door frame, and is further passed through a hole in a sealing screen between the inner panel area of the door frame and a trim cover, in order to connect to electrical equipment, such as a power window switch, etc., which is installed in the trim cover. Accordingly, the aforementioned electrical equipment is exposed to water splashing, between the sealing screen and the trim cover, due to soakage through the door harness. Accordingly, as FIG. 6 illustrates, the door harness W/H is conventionally provided to the downward direction in the inside area of the door frame to release the water, and then, is passed through a penetration hole 1a in the inner panel area 1 and the opening in the sealing screen to be connected to the connector which is provided in a trim cover.
In the aforementioned structure, the door harness must be redundantly lengthened to get the door harness detoured to the downward direction, and also external equipment for protecting the detoured door harness to the downward direction is required. Moreover, even if a door harness is detoured in the downward direction, an operation for penetrating a hole in a sealing screen is necessary, which causes a problem as to the time required for the operation.
In order to solve the aforementioned problems, proposed solutions are conventionally presented in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. (Hei)179156/1995, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. (Hei)48241/1997, and Japanese Unexamined Publication No. (Hei)40155/1996 etc. In any of these solutions, as briefly shown in FIG. 7, a depression 3 having an L-shape is formed extending from the side panel area 2a of a hinge installation area over to the inner panel area 2b of the door frame 2, and an installation unit 4 covering the depression 3 is provided. The installation unit 4 is made up of an L-shaped steel plate 5, or a resin plate, provided with a harness penetration hole 5a and a rubber material 6, used for contacting the wire harness, is installed on the inside of the plate. A grommet 7 having the door harness W/H internally inserted in the penetration hole is installed, and the door harness W/H is pulled out from the grommet 7 at the door side and is provided in the external surface of the inner panel area of the door frame by precisely adjusting the internal surface of the installation unit 4, in order not to pass through the inside of the door frame which gets soaked in water. In this construction, the installation unit 4 passes through a weather strip 8 which is vertically installed in the side panel area 2a of a hinge installation area, since the installation unit 4 extends to the inside panel area of the door.
In the aforementioned structure, the appearance may be damaged because the installation unit 4, which is installed extends from the side panel area 2a over the inner panel area 2b of the door, can be seen. Since the installation unit 4 passes through the weather strip 8, a gap caused by floating the position of the weather strip 8 can easily occur, and accordingly, water seepage through the gap into the inside of a vehicle is a possibility. Moreover, when the installation unit 4 is introduced, assembly costs increase due to the increase in the number of areas used. Also, together with greater time required for installing the installation unit 4 in the door harness W/H, even if the construction provides for installing the installation unit 4 in the door frame with a clamping bolt 9, the operation performance will greatly deteriorate because an operator has to bring bolts and clamping tools with him while conducting the installation.
The present invention does not have the aforementioned problem that results from a depression provided extending from a side panel area toward an inner panel area of a door frame that is closed with an installation unit. However, by the construction of the present invention is such that a door harness pulled out to the external surface of the inner panel area is prevented from water splashing so that the conventional installation unit having a complicated structure is not required, and also prevents interference with a weather strip, and the main purposes are to reduce costs and decrease the number of operations, together with the improvement of appearance and waterproofing.
In order to solve the aforementioned problems, the present invention presents a cable arrangement for a door wire harness, including a door harness provided from a body side of a vehicle over a door side and reaching to an inside area of a door frame by passing through a first penetration hole provided in a body of the vehicle to a second penetration hole provided in a side panel area of a hinge installation area of the door frame. The harness is pulled out between the door frame and a trim cover by passing through a third penetration hole provided in an inner panel area of the door frame. The area of the door harness extends from the first penetration hole to the third penetration hole and is passed through the inside of consecutive grommets. Joint areas provided in the grommets are connected with the first penetration hole, the second penetration hole, and the third penetration hole, respectively.
As mentioned above, the door wire harness extends from a body side of the vehicle to the door side, where the door harness passes through the second penetration hole provided in a side panel area of the door frame to the inside of the door frame, and is pulled out from the third penetration hole provided in an inner panel area. The harness passes through the inside of consecutive grommets extending from the first penetration hole provided in the body of the vehicle to the third penetration hole provided in the inner panel area of the door frame. Thus, water soakage occurring between the door frame and a trim cover through which the door harness is pulled out from the inner panel area of the door frame can be prevented because the door harness is not exposed to water splashing.
Also, in the aforementioned construction, only one grommet is required together with the provision of penetration holes in just the side panel area and the inner panel area of the door frame. Accordingly, cost reduction will be attained by decreasing the number of areas and operations since an installation unit for closing the L-shaped depression, which is conventionally provided to extend from the side panel area to the inner panel area of a hinge installation side is not required. In addition, the aforementioned structure can be commonly provided for both left and right doors, and, together with the improvement of appearance, can prevent water soakage through a weather strip because the weather strip is not penetrated by this construction.
The diameter of the first penetration hole provided in the body of the vehicle is smaller than the diameter of the second penetration hole provided in the hinge installation area of the door frame, and the diameter of the second penetration hole is smaller than the diameter of the third penetration hole provided in the inside of the door frame. With these settings of the individual diameters, a grommet insertion operation can be easily conducted for installation of the grommet, having a door harness pass through, to the door frame and a body of a vehicle because the insertion operation starts at the third penetration hole, proceeds to the second penetration hole, and then to the first penetration hole.
Also, it is preferable that the height of the position of the first penetration hole provided in a body of a vehicle is higher than the height of the position of the second penetration hole provided in the end of a hinge installation area of the door frame, and the height of the position of the second penetration hole is lower than the height of the position of the third penetration hole provided in the inside of the door frame. With the height of the position of the second penetration hole being lower in this way, the center position is lower than the grommet on both sides of the door frame, and the water which contacts the grommet inside the door frame and also between the door frame and a body of a vehicle can be easily released.
Moreover, it is preferable that a guide panel provided in the door frame extend toward the third penetration hole from the second penetration hole, and toward the second penetration hole at the third penetration hole from the periphery of the second penetration hole and/or the third penetration hole. Namely, since the insertion operation between the third penetration hole and the second penetration hole can not be seen, it must be easy to pass the grommet through the second penetration hole by using the guide panel provided as described above.
It is also preferable that the area which is provided with the third penetration hole is inclined toward the second penetration hole, and that the area is depressed toward the internal side of the door frame. With this construction, the insertion operation of the grommet, with the third penetration hole being passed through, naturally turns in the direction of the second penetration hole.
The present invention also provides a grommet used for a cable arrangement of the aforementioned door harness. The grommet is configured to have three joint areas which are consecutively connected with a small diameter tube for wire harness penetration between every other joint area. In particular, a first large diameter area is consecutively provided with small diameter cylinder at one end which is securable by tape-winding to the door harness, and the first joint area to be connected to the periphery of the first penetration hole is provided in the perimeter of the first large diameter area. A small diameter cylindrical bellows is connected to one end of the first large diameter area, and a second large diameter area is provided at the other end of the cylindrical bellows. The second joint area to be connected to the periphery of the second penetration hole is provided in the perimeter of a second large diameter area. One of a consecutive small diameter cylindrical bellows and an L-shaped tube is connected to the second large diameter area. A third large diameter area is provided at one end of the tube or bellows, and the third joint area to be connected to the periphery of the third penetration hole is provided in the perimeter of the third large diameter area.
In this construction of the aforementioned grommet, the three joint areas making up the grommet are consecutively connected with the two small diameter tubes used for the wire harness penetration. Even if the two small diameter tubes are replaced with cylindrical bellows, bending and deforming can easily be obtained, and accordingly, the operation for connecting to the three penetration holes can be performed smoothly. Moreover, since one end of a cylindrical bellows is place outside between a body of a vehicle and a door frame, a flexible door opening and/or closing function can be retained, and the deformation between the third penetration hole to the second penetration hole can be accomplished because the other end of the cylindrical bellows is placed in the inside of the door frame. Also, it is possible that the cylindrical bellows used as a small diameter tube which is passed through the inside of a door frame can be replaced with an L-shaped tube with a fixed position relative to the door frame, in order to prevent interference with the glass rail of a door.
The aforementioned grommet can be formed in a straight shape during molding. Accordingly, manufacturing cost increases can be prevented.
In the aforementioned grommet, a resin inner member may be installed in the joint area. In case of the installation of the resin inner member, operational performance can be improved. However, the resin inner member installation is not always required because manufacturing and assembly costs will be increased.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a cable arrangement for a door wire harness of a vehicle is provided, and the vehicle includes a body with a door. The cable arrangement includes a first aperture in a portion of the body adjacent a frame of the door, a second aperture in a side panel of a frame of the door, a third aperture in an inner panel of the door, and an elongated grommet having spaced apart first, second, and third joint areas sized to fit securely in a respective one of the first, second and third apertures to provide a waterproof connection.
Additionally, the first, second, and third apertures and the first, second and third joint areas are configured such that the first aperture and the first joint area are smaller than the second aperture and the second joint area, and the second aperture and the second joint area are smaller than the third aperture and the third joint area. Also, the first aperture is positioned at a height above the second aperture, and the third aperture is positioned at a height above the second aperture.
In another aspect of the present invention, the cable arrangement for a door wire harness may include a guide panel provided within the door frame, the guide panel extending from adjacent the second aperture toward the third aperture to guide insertion of the grommet between the third aperture and the second aperture during installation.
In a further aspect of the present invention, the cable arrangement for a door wire harness may include the third aperture provided within a depression in the inner panel, with the depression extending toward an interior of the door. Additionally, the depression may be inclined toward the second aperture to enable easy insertion of the grommet from the third aperture toward the second aperture.
Moreover, the cable arrangement for a door wire harness may further include an inner resin member installed in each of the first, second and third joint areas and engagable with a respective one of the first, second and third apertures to provide a secure connection between the respective joint areas and the apertures.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a grommet for a door wire harness is provided. The grommet includes a first joint area having a first size, a second joint area having a second size, and a third joint area having a third size. A first generally tubular member interconnects the first and second joint areas, and a second generally tubular member interconnects the second and third joint areas. Furthermore, the first size is smaller than the second size, and the second size is smaller than the third size, whereby the grommet is insertable in first, second, and third consecutively arrayed installation apertures having sizes corresponding to the first, second, and third sizes, respectively. Also, the first, second, and third joint areas may be configured as generally circular members, and thus, the first, second, and third sizes are first, second, and third diameters of the circular members.
In other aspects of the grommet of the present invention, at least one of the first and second tubular members is formed as a small diameter bellows, and both the first and second tubular members may be formed as small diameter bellows. Additionally, the other of the first and second tubular members may be configured as an L-shaped tubular member.
The grommet may also include an inner resin member installed in each joint area of the grommet to provide a secure connection between the respective joint areas and installation apertures. Moreover, the grommet may further include a generally tubular connecting portion connected to the first joint area on a side opposite the first tubular portion, whereby the grommet is securable to the door wire harness by taping.